Java
A big and beautiful island of Indonesia. All my recommendations about the island Java and the many possibilities of this island.
Bandung
Bandung is a nice city for two full days to discover the city but mostly the surroundings of Bandung. I just had one full day in Bandung so I tried to get most out of it. One did a day tour to different beautiful places in the south. We started at Kawah Putih also known as the white crater and yess it was really beautiful. You have the opportunity to walk all the way down and stand next to the sulphate lake. After the crater we went to the tea fields really close to the crater to just walk around and enjoying the beautiful view over the hills. Then we went to the hot springs nearby called Cibuni Rengganis Crater which are almost completely natural and really nice to just bathe in. After your dip in the hot springs you can continue to the Rengganis suspension bridge for a breathtaking view over the hot springs and the jungle. When you decide to do a tour similar to this find some more people to make it affordable. We hired a drive for the whole day with the five of us and payed 160.000 roepia per person, which is not even €10,00 per person. You still have to pay entrance fee and stuff but you will be traveling comfortable and you can really enjoy the view. When you want to stay in a nice hostel in Bandung, go to The Attic bed & breakfast. They do not only have amazing staff that will help you with everything you need but you can also make your own (free) breakfast and it is a hotspot for solo travelers! ooh and did I already mentioned that it is just 100.000 roepia a night, something about traveling on a budget.
Wonderloft
A must go place to stay when you are staying in Yogyakarta. The place is a little out of the centre of Yogyakarta but really cozy and comfortable. You can choose between different dorms and private rooms but they are all really clean and there is more then enough room for your stuff. The staff is amazing over there! They are willing to help you with everything, like renting a scooter, extending your stay, organize a tour for you or just when you have questions about the city or sightseeing. They are really friendly and remember your name to make everything personal. The breakfast every morning is amazing and different every day. End your day in the cold tub to cool down after a warm day. It is the perfect meeting place for backpackers and solo travelers and there are always people that would love to let you join on a tour.
And best thing ever for all the people that are also going to Jakarta, they have a Wonderloft hostel there as well!!
Rent a scooter
Rent a scooter and just go outside of Yogyakarta! The nature is beautiful and it is really easy to find some amazing waterfalls like Kedung Pedut and Air Terjun Kedung Kayang. Both of these waterfalls have viewpoints and at Kedung Pedut there is a platform you can jump from and you can do some on your own canyoning. There are also some beautiful beaches you can visit but they are more then a hour drive from Yogyakarta, like Indrayanti beach where you can see a beautiful sunset. Of course you can also go to the Merapi volcano, but you can't go all the way to the top with your scooter so you have to hike the last part up.
Cave tubing
One of the must do's in the surroundings of Yogyakarta is Cave tubing in the Pindul Cave. We went with 4 people by scooter and it is just a 1 hour drive to the cave. We got a guide named Thomas and really took his time during our tour. You can choose between different options between the cave, the river and a walk through another cave or choose them all. We chose to do the cave tubing only and they told us it would take around 45 minutes to complete the tour. We actually stayed away for more then a hour because Thomas took time for us to explain everything about the caves, the animals that live there and to answer our questions. Then we also went jumping from some rocks and he showed us how you can do some rock climbing. The water was cold but really nice as well and we just had a lot of fun during our tour. Thomas also made a lot of pictures and videos for us, all for free so that was really nice as well. If you choose to go tubing and you want to do the whole package it cost you 250.000 roepia, for only the cave it is 100.000 roepia but definitely worth your money!
Things to do in Yogyakarta
I think Yogyakarta is a really nice city to visit and there are several things you can do there. You can visit the water palace (Taman Sari), the palace of the sultan, go to Fort Vredeburg for some Indonesian and Dutch history, go to Molioboro for some food and shopping or go to the museum Sonobudoyo to discover the history of Wayang. Wayang are different art performances. You can also rent a bike with a local guide that will guide you around the less touristic but beautiful and historical places of Yogyakarta. Another interesting area of Yogyakarta is Kota Gede, this is the area where you can buy silver jewelry or make your own silver jewelry in one of the workshops.
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If you want to discover the area outside of Yogyakarta just rent a scooter and start exploring different waterfalls, the Merapi volcano, caves and beaches.
Prambanan temple
A must do temple when you are staying in Yogyakarta. The nice thing of going to the Prambanan temple is that you can visit three more temples for the same price. The views from the different temples are mesmerizing and it is really nice that compared to the Borobudur you can actually go on and in the different temples. So I would not recommend the Borobudur just because you pay a lot of money for just walking around the temple and you will be done there in 30 minutes. So, back to the Prambanan temple. The details of these temples are really beautiful and two temples are Buddhist and two temples are Hindu. They all have different buddha's and different statues you can enjoy. The beautiful bells they made of stone are pretty big and nice to see how they made it. Besides the temples it is a nice park to walk around and have a fun few hours of enjoying some history and nature.
The prices for both the temples are 675.000 roepia, in case you decide to go to only one temple both are 375.000 roepia. This is around €23,00.
Shelter Hostel
When you decided to stay in Malang I would definitely recommend you to stay at Shelter hostel. It is not only close to the city centre so that means close to all the different sightseeing places but it is also very clean, comfortable and great staff that is willing to help you with everything. They helped me with booking my train ticket and made sure I had breakfast after I came back late from my tour or when I had to leave early for catching my train. The beds are really big and extremely comfortable and the showers are clean, strong water pressure and with good warm water. It kind of feels like a hotel, the only difference is that it is easier to meet people and you pay around €6,00 a night!
Bromo Tour
You can start your tour to the Bromo from a few different locations but I decided to start my tour from Malang. It was a 2 hour drive from there to the sunrise point and yess I was out of luck to watch a sunrise because of the clouds and the rain it is still worth doing this to see a beautiful view of the Bromo and the different mountains that is surrounding the Bromo. Around 6 in the morning we started driving to the Bromo and started after a 1 hour drive with our walk to climb the Bromo volcano. The hike isn’t hard and even people with a low stamina are able to do this hike. The first big part is flat and then it is around 300 meters up with 100 meters of stairs. The view from on top of the Bromo is amazing and the sounds of this still active volcano is mesmerizing. You need to be lucky with the amount of steam that is coming out of the crater to really be able to see the crater. But it is definitely word doing this tour. A normal price for doing a trip like this is around 650.000 roepia.
Malang
Malang is a beautiful city in eastern Java. It is not extremely touristic but it feels a bit modern and they have sidewalks to get you from point A to B. A lot of nice and cute restaurants for example miss Wangs secret Garden and a big shopping mall for the people that would love to spend a rainy afternoon in a fun place. One of the things you definitely have to visit is the colorful area of Malang. People painted their houses in all the colors of the rainbow made a lot of street art on the side of their houses and it is just a nice area where you can feel happy. All the children that live there are speaking a bit of English and love to make you smile. Malang is definitely word to visit. Also make sure you just wander around throughout different areas because they have lovely little streets with beautiful street art, historical and colonial buildings and who knows what else kind of secrets.
Mount Ijen
Wauw! This was an amazing hike with an amazing view on the top. I did a guided tour with Thalia Travel and we were with a small group of 5. That is actually perfect because then you don't have to wait too long on your way up and down. They picked me up at my homestay at 2.45h in the morning and we started our hike at 4.00h. After a small instruction it took us around 2 hours to get all the way to the top, this was including some drink and picture breaks. When we arrived at the top we unfortunately did not see a sunrise but we had a stunning view on the lake. The problem on top of the volcano are the clouds and the mist that is coming from the crater. So I was extremely lucky that I could enjoy the beautiful lake for a few minutes but many people had to wait for a long time to have the same result. Mount Ijen is an active volcano so we couldn't go down the crater to see some blue fire. In the end my biggest reward was the view on top of the blue water and to do this with an amazing team.
